Improving Conditions for Green Building Construction In North America | CEC

Executive Summary 

Recognizing that green building requires specialized skills and capabilities on the part of many actors in the building industry, this report reviews education and training opportunities throughout North America and compares those opportunities to the skills and capabilities that are needed now, or are likely to be needed over the next decade. It also identifies gaps between the educational offerings and anticipated needs in the industry, and makes recommendations for bridging those gaps. 

Improving Conditions for Green Building Construction In North America | CEC

All workforce sectors need specific technical skills, such as the ability to work with certain tools or install certain systems, as well as interpersonal skills—the ability to communicate and collaborate effectively. Beyond skills, however, all parties to a green building project will be most effective if they also embrace an ecological mindset of interdependence and interconnectivity and shift their thinking from the conventional, sequential hand-off paradigm of design and construction. 

Successful education and training programs typically have one or more of the following characteristics:

• Knowledgeable, charismatic trainers with experience in the field 
• Peer-to-peer mentoring
• Online education that is accessible whenever the students can make time for it 
• Short-format instructional videos 
• A focus on the “why” of green approaches in addition to the “what”

The recommendations include specific suggestions for disseminating these best practices, along with steps for addressing the following gaps: 

• Ecological mindset and awareness 
• Soft-skills training and mentoring 
• Financial benefits and evaluation
• Training in specific technical fields 
• Cross-disciplinary education and training 

In addition to these industry-specific education and training needs, the report points out the value of educating those who can drive demand for green building, especially corporate clients in the United States and Canada, and government officials in Mexico.
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If you are interested using lean project delivery practices to deliver high performance green building and working on getting all new building to be NetZero Energy by 2020, please contact me with an email supporting this initiative.

For more information on Commission for Environmental Cooperation 

Thank you for your support in helping to make the Building Industry more Sustainable

Murray Guy @Lean_tobe_Green
Learn: LEAN LAB. … Design: Integrated Designs … Build: EcoSmart
For inquires: Mguy@i-designs.ca or 306.934.6818